Pharmacy Reg Has No Conscience Clause

On April 20th, 2006, the Nevada State Pharmacy Board approved a regulation "setting forth certain circumstances under which a pharmacist may decline to fill a prescription."  Conscience is NOT one of them.  There’s better news below, but this could make targets out of pro-life pharmacists and compel them to violate their consciences or face termination, lawsuits or discipline-including heavy fines and a loss of license- for refusing to dispense drugs which take human life to accommodate another person’s lifestyle of choice.  Those prescriptions are not drugs that fight cancer, AIDS, or pain.  They are not sexual enhancement drugs.  They are drugs which often cause early abortions, and drugs to assist suicide. 

This regulation could have a chilling effect on pro-life pharmacists-who are mostly Christian- and whose consciences prevent them from participating in death causing prescriptions. It tells a large group of pharmacists to check their consciences at the state line.  What happens here stays here-no conscience allowed.  If pro-life Christian pharmacists don’t like it, they can get another job or work in another state.  Who cares if there is a nation wide pharmacist shortage and a health care provider crisis in Nevada?  Who cares if rural communities are deprived of a pharmacist when rural pharmacists are run out of state?  We want what we want when we want it no matter who it offends to fulfill our lifestyles of choice.

Despite the lack of a clear conscience exception, there is still some reason to see pharmacist protections.  There is a provision allowing pharmacists to decline to fill “if the pharmacist reasonably believes, in his professional judgment, that” the prescription is “potentially harmful to the health of the patient.”  Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and others believe and testified that this language “leaves a loophole for a pharmacist to refuse for religious or conscience concerns.”  These anti-conscience groups forcefully argued to have this language changed or removed.  Under threat of a lawsuit, the board rejected those changes.

That could be this dark cloud’s silver lining.  From the testimony and exchanges at the hearing, the board may have reserved for pharmacists a right to decline to fill conscience-violating prescriptions under professional standards language.

This isn’t the end.  A legislative committee will likely review the adopted regulation.  The regulation will be tested.  Anti-conscience groups will be back next year at the legislature to force anti-conscience provisions into law.  And, if they can compel highly trained pharmacists to obey…doctors, hospitals and insurers… you’re next.